BBC bosses line up 'Murder On The Dancefloor' star Sophie Ellis-Bextor to be Britain's entry for next year's Eurovision Song Contest after Mae Muller's flop to second from last place in Liverpool

BBC bosses want singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor to become the UK's entry at next year's Eurovision Song Contest.

It follows stinging criticism of the Corporation after this year's choice, Mae Muller, finished second from last in the Liverpool final last week.

Sophie, 44, is an established artist with hits such as Murder On The Dancefloor, and she reached a new audience during lockdown with her successful Kitchen Disco videos, which landed her a Radio 2 show of the same name.

The mother of five is to be sounded out over taking part in next year's show, as BBC bosses are set to regain full control of the selection process for the UK's entry.

In 2021, they handed the role to an external company in a bid to reverse the poor performance of Britain's entrants.

Sophie Ellis-Bextor is an established artist with hits such as Murder On The Dancefloor

Sophie Ellis-Bextor is an established artist with hits such as Murder On The Dancefloor

follows stinging criticism of the Corporation after this year's choice, Mae Muller (pictured), finished second from last in the Liverpool Eurovision Song Contest final last week

follows stinging criticism of the Corporation after this year's choice, Mae Muller (pictured), finished second from last in the Liverpool Eurovision Song Contest final last week

One music industry source told The Mail on Sunday: 'At the moment there is only one artist on the BBC's list for Eurovision 2024, and they don't intend to add to it.

'Sophie Ellis-Bextor is seen as the ideal fit for the contest – she's a great singer and performer, and she is already known to audiences, both straight and gay, across Europe. The criticism the BBC has received over the decision to pick Mae Muller this year has been quite savage.'

Ms Muller was picked to perform in last weekend's Eurovision final by global management company TaP Music, who also chose 2022 entrant Sam Ryder, who finished second.

Doubts over Ms Muller had been growing before the final, with her voice criticised as not being strong enough to carry the track she performed, I Wrote A Song. Her rehearsal was littered with errors and hit by sound issues.

A series of old quotes, in which she suggested she hated the UK, alienated some.

There was also controversy when she said that Boris Johnson shouldn't have had a hospital bed when he was struck down with Covid.

It also emerged that she had applied for a German passport, which she said she wanted to help her cut down on extra paperwork when performing in the EU.